It is important to keep things in perspective here; this isn’t the best QLED display on the market. You can get way better for way more money. In terms of the price (sub-$500 for the 55″) this is up there when it comes for bang-for-buck for those who don’t want to blow a paycheck.

I have spent a week using this (more heavily than I would normally), to make sure this isn’t something I wanted to start up a return for. I had read a ton of reviews, and was keeping an eye out for a number of different things that others had complained about. In all honesty, I was a little nervous. Out of the box – there weren’t any dead pixels (perm. white or other colors). All of the pieces/parts that were supposed to be in the box were accounted for. Adding the base/stand to the bottom (I didn’t want to wall-mount until I knew for sure we were keeping it) was doable by yourself, but it becomes WAY easier with the help of another person.

Setup: If you are using the Google TV functionality, this will add time to your setup – but it will extend the library of apps you can choose from to add to the device compared to what is available as just a normal TCL display. I think the setup took me about 35 minutes in total. I only set up 3 apps (Prime, Netflix, and Plex) as part of the initial setup, and Plex was the only one of those not already installed. At this point, I no longer need the Roku Ultra nor the Chromecast w/ Google TV that are connected to the back of my other set.

Picture/Performance: The default picture settings are crazy crisp. I was reminded of the early days of HD (720/1080) displays and how everything looked like it had been filmed with the family Hi8 camcorder, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I was also streaming a show, and was noticing some strange action during movement handling for things that weren’t lightning speed (quick hand movements and leg movements while kicking a soccer ball). The movement thing was a big fear I had – based on reviews. So I started doing some Google searches, as this set got RAVE reviews earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and many more after. Trusted sources when it comes to reviewing electronics. So clearly the display is capable of being set up and performing properly. I didn’t have to look far to find settings that a reviewer used for the QM7 (and their other sets). Switching to similar settings (start with ‘Movie’ mode and bump the contrast down from 100 to what looks right for you, the site said they used 23), immediately removed the two problems I saw with the defaults. The picture is less sharp, and the motion correction was disabled in this mode. So far I haven’t seen any further issues.

Gaming: The Playstation 5 was automatically detected when connected to the HDMI port – so I didn’t have to name the input to make life easier for others in the house. The stock settings for Game mode just needed bumping a little to be a little brighter for my tastes. This could just be preference based on what I am used to from our old display. Very crisp. The color pops and the motion is fine with games with higher speed on-screen movement.

Sound: While this will be connected to a sound system for better sound – for the last week we have used this with it nothing more than the built-in 2.1 speakers. While it isn’t anything to write home about, it is way better than the sound you get integrated into most displays nowadays. The small, rear-firing sub gives the sound some additional texture it otherwise would be lacking in (just like the competitors). Sometimes it is the simple things. Not everyone wants a soundbar sitting or full sound system. You have given these people a good alternative. I respect that.

Shipping: You hear a lot of horror stories when it comes to shipping – regardless of who you purchase through. My preference is to pick such purchases up from a local big-box store. The reason I didn’t pick this up from a local (but national) big-box store is because their return policy is BS. Even if you buy their ‘insurance’ plan, their policy sucks. You are going to tell someone who just bough something for hundreds or potentially thousands of $$ that they can’t return/exchange it if there is a dead/broken pixel right in the middle of the screen right out of the box – even if they purchased the plan for extra money? You need to have a minimum of 3 bad pixels? Sorry, that is BS. I was unable to find something from Amazon that outlined such a policy, and was told that if I changed my mind about my purchase, I could return it. That is a win for Amazon/TCL. We were out of the house when the delivery driver was delivering it. He rang our doorbell and I talked to him. While a signature wasn’t needed, he was concerned about leaving the TV on the front porch as someone may steal it. I told him to just leave it there I had someone nearby who could put it inside in the next couple of minutes. I like the careful delivery and concern. The box was delivered in GREAT shape.

Packaging: My only complaint with the packaging was the big picture of DK Metcalf (Seahawks WR) on the box sitting in the living room the past week. It would have been nice to have received a box with someone else on it, but I get it – probably a safe bet for the Northwest. The box was packaged well, and outside of something catastrophic (being dropped or a puncture from the side), the display was pretty safe inside.

Bottom line: This is a great display. If you are looking for better display settings – Google for better display settings for the QM7 for watching movies or TV or playing PS5 or Xbox. You will find a community of people who have already given you a great place to start via Reddit, Youtube, and the web. And you can tweak it to your liking from there. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment – TCL has given you ways to return settings to their defaults should you not like where you have ended up and want to go back to the defaults again.

If you are looking for a TV for gaming this is it! I needed a new television for my den and I decided on the 55 inch. It’s more spectacular than I imagined. I have a PS5 and this TCL is an amazing addition to my gaming needs. The picture is amazing. Currently I’m playing Assassins Creed Valhalla and I had thought that the graphics were already fantastic but once I started playing I instantly saw the results. I was able to easily change the setting on my new TCL while seeing the impact each change had in the game. Within a couple of minutes fiddling around I had the perfect picture. Colors were more crisp. Zero lag and the scenery was instantly better. As for the 120 fps, most PS5 games include such a frame rate but not all. For example, Assassins Creed Valhalla does not but performance mode looks so good I hardly care about missing some graphical improvements. Once I started playing Spiderman 2 (which does have 120 fps while playing in quality mode) I was stunned and frustrated I had not purchased this TV sooner. If you want a cheaper option and think a TCL TV is a poor man’s television you are incredible wrong and ill informed. Buy it. You won’t regret it.

One more thing. The sound is fantastic. The TV includes a subwoofer and in a small little den sounds so good!